NASHVILLE — Soon after Charla McComic’s son lost his job, his health-insurance premium dropped from $567 per month to just $88, a “blessing from God” that she believes was made possible by President Trump.
“I think it was just because of the tax credit,” said McComic, 52, a former first-grade teacher who traveled to Trump’s Wednesday night rally in Nashville from Lexington, Tenn., with her daughter, mother, aunt and cousin.
The price change was actually thanks to a subsidy made possible by former president Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which is still in place, not by the tax credits proposed by Republicans as part of the health-care bill still being considered by Congress.
Obviously the key event here wasn't some piece of Obamacare kicking in, but the job loss, but it takes a bit of time for people to understand what the options are and why.
It was hard to take credit for good stuff that hadn't happened yet. I know most Obamacare criticisms get met with "best they could do, Joe Lieberman, blah blah blah" and fine. I've never really argued with "best they could do" type responses. Might not be completely true but I'll accept that it's true enough. Still at the time a lot of criticisms of Obamacare - many of which were prescient - weren't just met with "best we could do" responses, but responses along the lines of the pro-Iraq war guy in the Onion piece.
Worth passing anyway? Sure. Being blind (or pretending to be blind) to its flaws? Not so good.